


the night will slip away (like a sorrow or a tune)

by Scribulus



Series: The Real Tony Stark [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awesome Carbonells, BAMF Darcy Lewis, BAMF Maria Stark, BAMF Tony Stark, F/F, F/M, Genius Tony Stark, Howard Stark Is a Dick, Italian Tony Stark, Lonely Tony Stark, M/M, Misunderstood Tony Stark, Multilingual Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-10-01 02:31:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17235677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribulus/pseuds/Scribulus
Summary: All his life, Tony hid behind a fortress of lies and deceptions, walls and masks. Masks made of concealer and heavy sweaters to make sure the blood seeping out from his bandages, as a result of his lashings, don't show. His masks have been tried and tested, proving to hold up strong.So when the people at his new high school, Shield High, start seeing through them, he's not sure what to think, as they know how broken and fucking lonely he is.And as the most vulnerable parts of him start showing, he's not sure he wants to hide anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfic, like ever, so if you could tell me how it is (my stories sometimes fall into a rut of boringness) that would be fantastic.
> 
> On with the show!
> 
> Oh, and I don't own Marvel. Don't sue me.

_The night will never stay_

_The night will still go by_

_Though with a million stars_

_You pin it to the sky_

_Though you bind it with the blowing wind_

_And buckle it with the moon_

_The night will slip away_

_Like a sorrow or a tune_

 

Chapter 1

 

Sometimes he wonders, while staring up at the heavens. He cries out, his heart bleeding, wondering if anybody can hear him, hear that silent plea he makes when the moon is full and round in the sky and the velvet curtain of the night is pinned up with a million dazzling stars that shine like diamonds.

Nobody ever responds, but he feels a little bit better, knowing that the world is listening, in these quiet, beautifully broken nights. When the fire and the pomp of the sun have gone down, he stays out, body aching with pain, and breathes in the air and lets his masks fall down, bit by bit, until it is just him that's left, his splintered, fragmented heart that beats with painful, crushing hope, and just is.

He isn't a mess of black and blue, purple and red, his skin a canvas of colours that never seem to go away. He isn't the spoilt, alcoholic playboy. He isn't the arrogant rich kid. He isn't the son of Howard Stark (a name that leaves bitter ashes in his mouth). He's Maria’s son, his mama’s child.

He's the boy with the soft heart, the boy who loves music and beautiful creation. He’s the boy who sings in so many different languages and dances without a care. The boy who curls up with a book, or writes music and poetry or complicated formulas and algorithms for beauty. But that's when the night is still high, quiet in the sky. Until dawn glows in its grandeur, a brave Arthurian knight galloping by.

Tony always watches the night, until he falls asleep with peace in his lonely heart, and wakes up when his alarm rings, telling him to put on his masks. Today, he rolls out of bed painfully, though as graceful as ever. Howard really went full out on him yesterday, taking his towering rage out on Tony. He shuffles to his bathroom and takes a hot shower, shampooing his hair and cleaning his body carefully. He steps out, with a towel wrapped around him. He looks in the mirror and grimaces. His body is an artwork of bruises, painfully sore, the new ones he got just last night mixing with the old, ugly, sickly yellow and greens. He sighs and gets dressed, in a grey long-sleeved shirt and his most comfortable pair of jeans. He opens his makeup drawer and reveals enough makeup to make a girl green with envy. He shouldn't live like this. _Damn you, Howard_.

He meticulously applies concealer on the bruises along his jaw and neck, then painstakingly puts powder on it to make it seem more natural. He picks up his rod red backpack and puts on his signature leather jacket, slipping black sneakers on his feet. Tony walked out his bedroom, making sure to lock his door (he can't have Howard trashing it while drunk; thank god for secret walls otherwise all his books and blueprints and few instruments would be gone). He walked through the East Wing which is where his rooms are and down the main grand staircase, to the kitchen. Tony is never allowed to eat in the mornings, (not that he'd want to, beatings had a way of making a stomach reject substance) and wasn't allowed to pack anything for lunch, which was what he really hated.

Once in the Main Hall, he found Jarvis waiting patiently for him. “Hello, Young Master Anthony.” Jarvis’ colours were strikingly beautiful, vibrant yet gentle shades of lapis lazuli blue. His voice rang with threads of baby blue fondness. That was one secret Tony had- he could see colours in sounds and words.

He had synesthesia, which meant he translated things into colours. His brain was just wired that way. It was why he liked music and languages so much. English language would forever always be silver, no matter what you said, at the very core, there would be silver. Italian was by far his most favourite language, like a beautiful dusk, all purple and tinged with red and orange and yellow, with the slightest hint of pink. Spanish was a fiery sunrise, and German was the colour of frost covered grass. Russian was the colour of ice and snow and Chinese was pink. There were so many and he would just be still and silent after a hard school day and listen to languages.

He was also an anomaly, which was why Howard beat the shit out of him whenever he could. Tony claims it as proof Howard is a fucking hypocrite. If it wasn't for him injecting substances into his blood when he was a baby, while drunk, he wouldn't be like this. He had mutant abilities. That he used. His life really was a piece of shit.

“Hello Jarvis.” He replied. Tony entered the car, and let the driver, Earls, drive him to school. He had recently been attending a boarding school, but the media had managed (forced) Howard to remove him. Tony couldn’t help but be somewhat glad. The boarding school was a mix of military academy and normal school, that was what they publicized. Yeah, right.

It was actually a discipline school for kids you don't want to see any more. Famous people sent their bastard children there, or kids they don't care about. He watched as kids came into the school with fire in their eyes, and came out like robots, only meant to serve, their spirits crushed beyond repair.

He exited the car and trudged towards the high school. He was a 14 year old Junior among 16 and 17 year olds. As he entered the building, he forced a cocky smirk to come to his lips, and let arrogance shine through his walk, so that, as people passed him, all they saw was “the spoilt brat” or “arrogant playboy”. Very few people remembered the moniker “genius”, despite it all. He grabbed the few supplies he would need for his first class, Chemistry, and slid into his seat as the bell rang, signifying a new start of the day at Shield High School.

Dr. Banner was at the front as usual, talking about neutrons and subatomic particles and the periodic table. He made a mental note to read some of his thesis papers, he was fucking amazing. In school, Tony didn't really try, sliding through with average grades. If it wasn't for his childhood achievements, nobody would even guess. As it was, they rolled their eyes and sneered and forgot, only remembering at the end of year finals, when he blew them all out of the water.

Tony opened his personal binder, not bothering to take notes, and began to scribble down algorithms and codes for the AI he was in the process of making, putting Dr. Banner’s lecture into the spot in his mind he saved especially for them. “Anthony, are you listening at all?”

Tony glanced up, dragged out of his engineering haze. Actually, yes he was. He could quote him verbatim and add additional sources to that. He didn't bother answering, letting Dr. Banner interpret it however he wanted. And of course, like every other person, he sees the mask he created.

“Detention. After school.” Dr. Banner icily says. He's usually a pretty laid back guy,until you’re rude, skip classes, don't hand in homework or ignore his lectures. Then he goes mad. Like Science Smash!!!

Tony withheld a grimace. He isn't allowed to get driven from school to the mansion, and technically isn't allowed to be driven from the mansion to school unless he is really ‘ill’. He would have to walk home, since he couldn't make the bus, and it was a solid 2 miles to even get to the gates. With his injuries, it would take forever, and then he wouldn't have time to do his homework, because he was too busy creating missile designs and bombs for Howard, because he wouldn't get paid otherwise. It was a vicious cycle.

“Unless you're held up elsewhere?” Dr. Banner says dangerously politely. Snickers ring through the class, and Tony is painfully reminded of the reputation he’d built for himself. Dr. B, one of his favourite teachers probably thought he had a line of sluts waiting somewhere for him. He felt a stab of pain but brushed it off. Stark men were made of iron and all that, right?

“No. I'm fine.” The bell rings, and students file out, but as Tony gets ready to leave, he's held back. He inwardly groans. Great. Ms. Hill hates him, and being late to her class will not be making this better. He'd probably get dragged to Fury’s, the principal, doorstep.

“Sit down, Anthony.” It’s Antonio, his stupid mind rebels, and Tony tries to squash it down until at least he gets home.

“Yes, Dr. B?” A tendon in his jaw ticks, showcasing how mad he is.

“Do you want to spend your lunchtime here too?”

“No sir.” Tony dully says. The beginning of class bell rings, and his heart sinks. God, they're going to call Howard today, he knows it, because Hill would drag him to Fury and call his parents. He hoped to whatever deities existed that Jarvis would pick up the phone.

“I'm going to tell you details of your detention, since you seem to think that you can waste my time. You can waste other teachers time as well, if you want to be like this.” Tony couldn’t help but be bitter. He was doing this on purpose, he had all but come out straight and said it.

“Your detention is for an hour, and you will be doing worksheets of what you have ignored in class. I expect all of them to be done perfectly and completed, if you can manage to even do that.” Ouch. Yeah, he was pissed off today. Fan-fucking-tastic. He was going to die. “Dismissed.”

Tony walked quickly away from the Doctor, leery of his temper. There was 40 minutes of Hill’s class, Government, left. By the time she had finished ripping into him and mocking him, there would only be 10 minutes left over, ten minutes in which she made Tony a laughing stock. He might as well skip.

He took a detour towards the wood shop, which was connected to the mechanic shop and the glass shop. Tony came there to work on things, and to generally calm down. He entered through the doors and into the empty room. With a sigh, he passed into the glass shop. Lunch was next, and although he was starving (he hadn't eaten in 2 days), he wanted to wait until Howard left the next morning to eat, so that he wouldn't immediately hurl everything in his stomach.

Tony went to a secluded corner, and pulled up the sound proof walls. He spent an hour and a half creating glass figurines. He was good with his hands, excellent at creating things. He had a collection of glass figurines, clear glass and stained glass. He often gifted his creations to Jarvis and Ana and his mama, or the kids he knew, or his best friends Pepper (who went to a special law centred school and was a year and a half older than him, at 15 nearly 16) and Rhodey (who went to a proper military academy and was 17). Either that or he sold them for extra cash.

He finished making his Pegasus in flight, and waited for it to cool down a bit more before he wrapped it and left. Once the end of lunch bell rang, he pocketed the little figurine wrapped up in brown paper, and hurried off to class. School passed in this monotonous manner until the end of the day bell rang, and Tony was slowly making his way to Dr. Banner’s classroom. He sat at the desk nearest to the door, and a much calmer Dr. Banner handed him the worksheets.

Tony cautiously took them, still unsure about his temper. When nothing happened, he bent over them and began scribbling down the answers. He wondered if he finished early he could leave right away. Tony finished the rest and handed them over. Dr. Banner looked at him calculatingly. Tony wasn't really in the mood for this. His body was throbbing with pain, he was starving, Howard was certain to beat him today before he left and he still had 2 miles to walk. He could feel the beginnings of an intense headache coming up. 

"Can I go now?" Tony asked. He was sore and tired and all he really wanted to do was curl up. 

"Yes, you may." Tony shuffled off and made his way to his locker, putting on his jacket and his headphones. Arms in his pockets and his backpack a heavy weight on his back, he made his way outside. Walking slowly, his world awash with colours, he was lost in his head.

Tony didn't notice the surprised look of the person in the car passing him while he was halfway there, it was Dr. Banner. He lazily kicked at a rock in front of him. For the first time, he was glad it was a Monday. Howard would be gone for at least a week and a half for some sort of stupid war thing, and he would heal (mostly be fine) before the weekend. Weekends were special to him. He would go to dance centres and gymnastics arenas and help kids with what they needed, give homework tutoring and help with instruments. He was a huge hit, he knew over 200 kids. Tony couldn't help but like doing this, knowing that those kids were having a chance that had been ripped away from him far too soon. It was then he noticed the car. What the fuck was Dr. Banner doing here? Him with his green, green voice that was pale green when he was calm and army green when he was not. There was a reason why he called him 'Jolly Green.'

He watched as the car turned the curve and disappeared from sight. Shrugging it off as just one of those weird things, he quickly made his way to the mansion.


	2. Chapter 2

As he made his way up the long winding driveway, he passed the gateman who nodded sympathetically to him.

"Your school called," Eddie told him.

He nodded and swallowed hard. "Grazie," he muttered. He spoke in Italian when he was nervous.

Tony makes his way inside the mansion, hurrying up the stairs as fast as he can. Once inside his room, he removes his clothes and changes into something 'respectable' as Howard would call it. A crisp white dress shirt with a dark jacket over it and dressy slacks, combing back his hair before putting on shoes.

Not a moment too soon, as a knock on his door comes. It's Jane, usually the messenger between him and his father (they never talk unless it's Howard insulting him and telling him he's worthless). "Your father requests your presence." Her eyes are warm and worried.

He nods. "Thank you, Jane." Tony rushes down the stairs and knocks on Howard's study door. He waits for about 12 seconds before getting a response.

"Enter," Howard barks.

He enters and shuts the door. "You requested my presence, Sir." He says subserviently.

"I've gotten a call from school... You've been skipping classes, Anthony." Howard's cold voice is harsh and unforgiving.

It was an ugly shade of brown, which was a pity as brown often meant simple joy, like playing-in-the-dirt brown and triple-chocolate-fudge-ice-cream brown.

"Yes, Sir." In all honesty, nothing he can do will change the outcome. If doesn't speak, he gets beaten for being 'rude' and 'insolent'. If he tries to explain, may the higher deities help him get out of it alive, he'll be seen as 'lying', and shit'll hit the fan.

"Come here, Anthony." Howard is holding a glass of scotch in his hand, reclining against the expensive leather seat.

Tony steps closer. He tries to block everything out, so he isn't as prepared as he should be for the first blow, cracking against his face like a whip.

Staggering slightly, he watches in growing fear as Howard picks up the cane. It is made of iron with wickedly sharp edges and a wooden handle. Stark men are made of iron, oh god, he hates how Howard beats the message into him with everything he does-

Crack!

"One, Sir."

Crack!

"Two, Sir."

Crack!

"Three Sir."

He keeps counting, despite the blood. It was so red, so rich, blood wasn't supposed to be this beautiful, staining his white shirt and spilling against skin-

After 20, Howard stops. "Get out of my sight, boy."

Staggering up from the floor, he weakly assents, making sure not to let his voice tremble or he'd get another beating for being a weak crybaby. He staggered up and left, managing to make it to his room with staining anything else.

He climbs into the shower and rinses off the blood, holding in whimpers of pain of how bad it hurts, with the shower spraying against his broken skin.

He dries off, ignoring the blood on the towel, and sets to bandaging his wounds, pulling out a first aid kit from under his sink.

He sprays some antiseptic on them and bandages them. It wasn't even the worse he'd had, on truly bad days Howard would carve words into his flesh and burn him with cigars and pokers while he would scream as his flesh sizzled.

He hates looking in the mirror. He has muscle from working in the lab and lifting heavy things, as well as dancing and gymnastics. But his back is a scarred, horrible mess that he hates looking at, it just reminds him of just how weak he is.

Tony tries to get as much blood out of the shirt as possible, so that the laundry maids wouldn't be overly worried.

He pulls a shirt on, wincing as it gets stuck and pulls, before getting on some trouser, his body aflame with pain as he is forced to bend over to pull them on.

His face is mostly fine, just a cut on his jaw that he cleans up quickly, and a small bruise that he'd cover up with concealer tomorrow.

Tony makes his way to his lab, and sets to working on the missile designs that Howard demanded. He would have to find some way to do his homework, if Howard was disturbed from his trip, his life would be over as he knows it to be.

He works well into the night, catching an hour and a half of sleep, barely managing to finish the pile of homework he was assigned to. As it is, it's shoddy work

He had heard Howard leaving in the early morning. As he dresses for school, he is glad for one mercy.

His door is knocked on and he turns, his voice hoarse with the forced in tears and screams. "Who is it?"

His mother opens the door, her dark brown hair pinned carefully back and big brown eyes looking at him worriedly, wearing a light blue smart dress. "Antonio, _bambino_? _Stai bene_?" (Antonio, baby? Are you alright?)

Her voice, a gorgeous lilac colour, floated softly like silky clouds around him, wrapping him in a warm hug, while pale blue fondness and light pink love threaded the words.

" _Mamma, sto bene_." (Mama, I'm fine.)

" _No, non lo sei. Mi dispiace così tanto, tesoro, no dovresti vivere così_." (No, you aren't. I'm so sorry darling, you shouldn't be living like this.)

" _Non potrei sopportarlo se ti fa del male, mamma. Vivrò_." (I couldn't bear it if he hurt you, mama. I'll live.)

His mama was as tough as nails, she had to be coming from a family like hers where half of them were assassins (they were great though, honestly) and the other half were in dangerous professions or healing (it made for interesting dinner conversations, though why they describe how they had done surgery on the large intestine while they were eating spaghetti, he would never know).

But Howard had all the power right now. Until he was a little older, and managed to get hold of his bank account when he was 16 (That was the oldest requirement Howard could make), they were stuck.

" _Questo non è vivo. Forse per Natale ti porterò dalla mia famiglia, i Carbonells. Puoi guarire allora forse_." (This isn't living. Perhaps for Christmas I can take you to see my family, the Carbonells. You can heal then, maybe.)

Tony smiled fondly at his mama. " _Certo, mamma. Sarebbe stupendo. Ora, devo andare altrimenti farò tardi_." (Of course mama. It would be wonderful. Now, I must go otherwise I'll be late.)

She nodded and left, giving him a kiss on his cheek. Tony grabbed the rest of his stuff and walking carefully, went downstairs to where Earls was waiting.

The drive passed quickly, and Tony was inside the school in no time at all. He tiredly walked to his locker, keeping his head down. The cut on his jaw was prominent, and he couldn't cover up the bruise with concealer due to how the cut was in the way.

He grabbed his stuff and went to his first class, chemistry. Again. He slid into his seat near the back and bent over his 'pretty' book. It basically had all things beautiful in it, while additional pages could be added to it. He'd had it since he was 8.

Going to where his music was, he continued writing out words. He had finished the actual music about a week ago, and was left with writing down the words.

It was for The Nutcracker, the play that the Seniors (in one of the dance studios he went to) were doing and he was making it as a present for them. He often made music for their plays, and was determined to get this done.

Tapping his old fashioned quill (he had a bit of a thing for them, sue him. He had even made fast-drying ink for it so he didn't have to wait forever for the words to dry against paper) against his lips thoughtfully, he considered the lyrics before scratching them out and re-writing them. Tony then noticed the shadow over him. Dr. Banner.

Tony had purposely come to the classroom early so that he wouldn't have a reason to call Howard. So what the fuck did he want now, dammit?

"Sir..?" He asked warily.

"What are you writing?" The man eyed the quill curiously.

"Nothing much, sir." Tony hastily closed his book after wafting it to make sure it was extra dry.

Tony forced back a yawn and put the book in his bag. He was pretty sure the man wouldn't be able to read it, he wrote in dozens of different languages and coded it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Howard had taught him that much.

Dr. Banner looked like he wished to say more about it, but then noticed the nasty bruise-and-cut combo (which didn't detract from his looks, he knew he was handsome as hell with dark tousled hair, big brown eyes with flecks of gold, golden skin, a strong jawline and a well toned body) on his jaw.

"What happened to your jaw, Anthony?"

Tony shrugged a shoulder. "Wasn't looking where I was going while I was working on something, it didn't go so well."

Another thing about him- he was an excellent actor.

Dr. Banner's voice was tinged with lemon yellow worry. The doctor eyed him suspiciously before he nodded and went back to his desk.

Tony took his headphones out of his bag and put them on, and began the process of shutting things out.

He had created them, as Howard refused to buy him anything, but besides that, he knew they were the best ever. Of course, they could be even better if he bothered to upgrade them.

Lime green and bouncy electric pink began to do the can-can in the air as sky blue danced with them as butter yellow came in to play. He couldn't help but smile, amused.

The bell rang then, and he removed the headphones and shoved them into his bag as students began coming in.

He wished Pepper and Rhodey were here with them, at least he would see them on the weekend.

Dr. Banner began his lecture, and he turned towards the board.

The day passed slowly. The bruise on his jaw got a lot of attention from everybody.

During lunch, he contemplated skipping, but the growl in his stomach dissuaded him.

He hadn't eaten in three days, right.

Rhodey was going to kill him, if Pepper didn't get to him first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used google translate, so the Italian words might be screwed up. I would appreciate if any Italian-speaker corrected me on them.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony slid into the cafeteria, blending into the background. The only person who might notice him is Loki, Thor's younger brother who was a Junior like him.

Steve Rogers (his mom was awesome and worked at his favourite coffeehouse and gave him free coffee when he was there, but her son was a hypocritical jerk), Clint Barton (he had a hell of an aim but he was prejudiced berk), Thor Odinson (he wasn't bad, but he had a big mouth), James 'Bucky' Barnes (he was pretty okay out of all of them, and he was easy- very easy, on the eyes), Jane Foster (who was Thor Odinson's girlfriend), Darcy Lewis (who was basically his only friend here) and Natasha Romanov (she hated everybody except her group, but hated him the most).They were all Seniors and made up the Group.

Tony rolled his eyes as he reached the front of the line and picked up a sandwich and cookies.

He ate them as he walked through the empty halls. Tony went to the gym. Despite his injuries he wanted to stretch a bit, it has been two days since he had done anything properly active.

Tony entered the aux gym and closed the doors and drew the curtains before setting up the stereo system. He plugged in his phone and selected a playlist.

He stepped back as music started to play. He knew it was risky, as nobody here knew him as himself, just as a Stark, but he was getting cramped and grumpy.

He had ADHD, which nobody except his mama and Jarvis knew, and it got him into a lot of trouble when he didn't work out all excess energy. Medications could only do so much.

Tony began with 15 laps around the gym, then 45 push ups and 45 sit ups, ending with 30 pull ups.

He then began stretching properly, twisting his body different ways, relishing in the burn of muscles and ignoring the stabs of pain from his back. He wouldn't be too much longer.

Tony set up a course made of benches and hula hoops, and made his way through it in all the different ways possible. Dates for now, he flopped back onto the floor.

He would probably have to re-wrap his bandages.

Getting up, Tony shoved the benches away. He slid back out through the door and bumped into a muscular chest.

Rogers. Wonderful.

And his troop, double the fun. Tony turned and began walking away, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"Watch out, Stark," Barton's voice came.

Fuck him.

He moved even faster, heading for his locker to get bandages to change.

Footsteps hurried to catch up with him and he didn't even bother trying to stifle a groan.

Romanov. She and Barton were Coulson's (his guidance counsellor as nobody else could put up with him) kids.

"You were in the gym, weren't you, Stark."

It wasn't a question.

"Why the fuck do you care?" He snapped, leaning against the row of lockers.

"Language." She flatly says. Tony's not sure whether or not she's shitting him right now.

"Out of the mouths of babes." Tony snorts. "No, what do you want?"

He's running over the list of info he has on Romanov. He never really interacted with her, except for a murderous look here or there. But what he did know was that she was a dancer, and was probably an assassin/spy. He lived with the Carbonell's during school breaks, and they knew everything. He was observant and knew how to kill a person in 7 different ways with a toothpick, but they knew how to kill somebody in 23 different ways with a toothpick. It was actually sort of terrifying how they knew things. Which meant that she probably heard/saw somebody in the gym.

He needed a bit more impulse control it seemed.

"Were you in the gym?"

"Why the fuck do you want to know who was in the gym?"

The look on her face promptly turned murderous.

Tony gulped but stood steadfast. He had faced an angry Pepper Potts. An angry Pepper Potts tended to be people's worst nightmare. Romanov had _nothing_ on her.

She looked rather impressed. Romanov opened her mouth to continue when the bell cut her off.

Tony groaned and unlocked his locker, getting the stuff he needed for government class.

Footsteps of brightly coloured rainbow puffs clogged the air. Tony squinted into the multicoloured chaos only he could see. Ignoring the blood running down his back, he pulled on a sweater (it had been unusually chilly for November), content it would hide any sign of blood.

Scooting around Romanov, Tony grimaced and plunged into the crowd, as he was blinded by colourful puffs. Polka dots and stripes to filled in clouds covered him in bright dust.

He managed to make his way to Hill's classroom, panting, and slid into his seat, twitching uncomfortably as the dust still lingered on him, not touching, but hovering, and longed to flick them away.

He bent over his 'pretty' book, bringing out his quill and scribbling the beginnings of a rough composition for The Nutcracker. The dance studio that was performing it, was original and unique because everything they did they made up themselves. The music, the dance, everything. Oh you could still tell, except there was always a beautiful, eclectic mix thrown into everything, highlighting and branding it as a property of Unique Pointe Dance Studio.

They didn't even do ballet only, they added jazz and hip-hop and tap to original classics as well. However, the studio was very popular and exclusive because of this.

His goddaughter, Sharon, who's aunt was his godmother, went there.

Another studio he went to, which was actually a school, Dance To Dream Dance School (affectionately called as 'Triple D' by students) was also a good one. They did normal stuff in the morning, then danced in the afternoons until 4. It was also a boarding school.

The warning bell rung, and Tony hastily blew on the page, packed the book away and pulled out his Government binder which was steel grey. Hills began class, throwing random unexpected questions his way and looking sour when he got them right and nastily triumphant when he purposefully made a mistake.

Slouching out of the classroom, he entered his last class of the day, Study Hall. It was also taught by Phil Coulson, as he was considered to be absolutely unflappable, and often multi tasked with the patience of a saint.

Unfortunately, he shared the class with the Group. Stifling a sigh, he dragged his feet on the way there. At least Darcy would be there and they could play chess, or some sort of other game, seeing as Tony usually finished his homework ridiculously early (the teachers really didn't like him) and Darcy didn't have much.

He entered the classroom, where Coulson already was. "Hey, Agent."

"Good afternoon. Tony, I am not an Agent."

"Yes, you are. Don't worry, I won't tell."

Before he had the chance to respond to that, Tony was already sitting in the back row seats and the rest of the students trickled in.

Darcy slid in next to him. "Hey, Tones. When was the last time you ate? You look skin and bones."

"Don't forget the muscles."

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him affectionately, a thread of baby blue through her indigo voice. He can't help but feel lucky at just how many people are fond of him. "Yeah, totally."

"I ate today," Tony offered.

"What did you eat?"

"I ate a sandwich, don't look at me like that Darcy, I finished it."

"Mmhm. And when was the last time you ate before today?"

Tony hesitated. He hated it when she was this perceptive (which she usually was). "Do you want to go to your house after school?"

"You changed the subject, Tony. When was the last time you ate before today?"

Shoot. He wasn't getting out of this.

He meekly held up three fingers. Darcy closed her eyes as if in agony. "Tony..."

The aforementioned person's cheeks were tinged with a rare hue of pink. "I slept every single day for the past 2 weeks."

Tony finally looked up at her. Darcy saw his jaw. Her face fell and she looked like somebody had slaughtered innocent, defenceless puppies and kittens in front of her. "You 'fell', didn't you?"

His friends weren't stupid. They saw it (mostly Darcy, but Rhodey and Pepper were plenty sharp enough to take notice) when he went to the mansion relatively fine and came back with bruises on his arms and concealer on his face and neck (this was before he perfected the art of makeup).

It was also the only thing that could make them cry, which Tony hated so damn much.

"I wasn't looking where I was going," Tony corrected her.

"You do seem to do that a lot." Her voice was quiet.

"I'm almost 16, Darcy."

"Not soon enough."

Tony felt a rising wave of guilt threaten to overwhelm him.

Darcy gave him a fierce look. "Don't you dare feel bad, Tony. I'll be fine. You won't. Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He indicated that she should keep her voice down, noticing the curious glances sent their way and the puzzled looks of the Group. "No, just need a change, if you don't mind. I can do it myself if you're busy."

"Shut up, Tony. I would drop everything I was doing to go and help you, you clever fool."

"That's an oxymoron."

"You know what I mean!"

Their voices caught the attention of Coulson. "Quiet down."

"It's okay, Darce, please don't cry. He's gone for a week and a half and it's almost the holidays."

"As I said, not soon enough."

"What can I do, Darcy? It's Howard Stark."

"You're smarter than him. And your mama's family would most definitely help."

"He's filthy rich, Darce, and he's chipped my mama."

Darcy sucked in a harsh breath as the room began to eavesdrop. She flipped them off and they hurriedly focused back onto their work. She wasn't called 'Taser Girl' for nothing.

"Tony..."

Tony twitched uncomfortably. He had never told Darcy this.

"If I ever get my hands on Howard Stark, he's a dead man."

Tony smiled sadly. "Thanks, Darce." He was just so tired and all he wanted to do was curl up and cry-

"You're coming over to my house. Snuggle session."

Tony gave her a look which he hoped conveyed just how grateful he was. Darcy gave awesome hugs and was always there if he needed a warm body to curl up with and sleep for hours.

"Anytime, buddy."

School ended quickly enough and Tony texted Jarvis to tell him not to bother Earls with the car. He quickly got a warm reply.

"Darcy, theatre meeting, remember?" Rogers told her.

"Oh, crap. Tony, do you mind tagging along?"

Tony shrugged, ignoring the wary looks. "Yeah, no problem."

He followed a little ways behind. As they made their way to the room, Tony heard Rogers hiss to Darcy, "What are you doing with Stark?"

He got a whack over the head for his troubles.

Once inside, Tony slid into the closest available corner.

The meeting was pretty regular to Tony. He payed enough attention to find out they were doing the musical 'Pippin', which was a favourite of his, and zoned out.

It wasn't until he heard his name did he jerk out of his stupor.

"Tony can do it." Darcy said matter-of-factly.

"Stark? Can he even sing?" Jane Foster asked doubtfully.

"Forget sing. Can he even do a cartwheel? He skips gym all the time." Barton said scornfully.

"Tony can do what?" Tony stepped out of his place in the corner.

"Be the Leading Player in 'Pippin'." Darcy explained.

"Uh, Darcy, I'm already kinda busy." Tony told her. He was involved in at least 5 different plays and musicals. Granted, he chose minor roles and mostly did tech support and created music, but it still counted.

"What? Doing homework and drinking coffee?" Barton snarked back at him.

"Shut up Clint." Darcy said. Ignoring his injured look, Darcy turned her best puppy-dog eyes to him.

"Tony, we don't have a Leading Player and you're the only one that can do this because you've directed this musical before and know all the roles like the back of your hand."

The cast suddenly looked a lot more interested. Half of them looked disbelieving.

He rolled his eyes. "Darcy..."

"Please Tony? Nobody is as good of an acrobat as you are, and you know it. Your theatre skills are unparalleled, I would want you as Pippin-" And Pippin looked offended. "But none of them can tumble well enough to even pass as Leading Player except Clint, and he's already busy with another musical he's helping out with as the main role."

Tony groaned. "And what about me?"

Darcy sighed. "I'll let you choose all movies for a month."

"Nope."

Darcy looked at him as if he said Mars was green and made of cheese. "You don't want to pick the movies for a month? You?"

"Nah, I've got something else I'm interested in."

"What?"

"The Christmas Dance."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!
> 
> Now, the not-so-good news is that I've been grounded, so I can only have an hour of computer time every day, and school is starting up soon and I have a science project and 3 tests during January, so I can't update as often as I like. So, I'm going to update once a week after this. Probably on Sunday's.

He really liked causing uproars sometimes, Tony thought blissfully. Honestly, the colours that resulted from this were gorgeous. 

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Mr. Artistic and Science _and_ Musical Genius," Darcy said wryly.

"That's me!" Tony said cheekily. "So, I get the music and I get to make your dress, and if I get this, I'll call Lulu for interior design." Lulu was a friend of Tony who majored in design, specifically interior design.

"You know I can't say no to this deal." Darcy whined. "Lulu is amazing, and so is everything you do."

"I know, I'm doing you a favour, you should be grateful." Tony deadpanned.

"Yeah, yeah. I accept your deal."

They shook hands. The ret of the theatre members were still arguing and Tony watched as a rather dangerous shade of garnet red sparked into existence. "Darcy, you might want to break this mess up."

"Okay." Darcy had learned that Tony knew just when to push something and when the breaking point had been reached. "Alright all of you! Shut up!"

They slowly subsided, grumbling. Darcy ran the show here (and ran a bunch of different things, she had a habit of having fingers stuck into every pie possible, and if she ran out of fingers, she used her toes) and when she said shut up, she meant it. It was rumored that she kept spare tasers in her bag in case her main one broke.

"Meeting's over. See you in 2 days, and you better have been practicing." She dismissed them.

While they streamed out, Tony got a text form Kira, the boss at Dance Pointe dance studio.

Libby called in sick. Can you take over the 7:00 pm Junior class?

He quickly texted back. Yeah, sure. I'll be there in an hour and get things ready.

Thanks, you're a godsend.

I know.

Are you sure you won't work here?

I'm in high school.

You've graduated Oxford.

When I was 10, and that was no fun at all. I'm aiming for Yale.

What waste.

I sub.

Poor excuse.

Tony rolled his eyes. It was true he had already graduated University, but he wanted to go to Yule this time, get the full experience. His friends all thought he was crazy.

"Tony, you ready?"

"Actually, I'm subbing in for Libby since she called in sick."

"Hey! Not fair." Darcy pouted.

Tony hurried to placate her. He really didn't like it when she got upset. "How about this. I sub in, and we can have a sleepover at your house."

She immediately brightened. "Yay! Okay, so we'll go to your house and you can pick up your stuff that you need, and while we're there, I can help you change your bandages, then we'll drop you off."

" _Grazie_ Darcy. That'll be great."

"We'll pick you up in an hour and a half."

They walked out of the school and outside to the front, where Darcy's mom pulled up. Tony and Darcy engaged in a fierce rock-paper-scissors battle that Tony won (he could calculate the possibilities, and they'd given up on rolling die) and he slid into the front passenger seat.

"Hello Tony, Darcy. Have a good day?" Ms. Lewis "call-me-Emma" smiled at them.

"Yeah, thanks mom."

"Yes Ms. Emma." Tony called her by the compromise they had settled on.

"Mom, we need to go to Tony's house first, he's subbing in at the Pointe, and we're going to have sleepover."

"Sure thing, kids, as long as you get up on time in the morning, I don't have problem with that." Emma was generally a laid back person, much like Darcy. As long as you did what you were supposed to, she didn't mind what they did, as long as they didn't damage their health unnecessarily in the process.

Emma reached the mansion fairly quickly, and Tony slid out of the seat and entered the door, Darcy following behind him. Typing in the complicated passcode, they entered and went to his room.

"I still say that this place looks like something out of a horror movie. The house of overindulgence and cruelty." Darcy announced as they went upstairs.

"Yes Darcy, I know." Tony patiently answered.

Once upstairs, he grabbed his overnight duffle bag and his dance bag, shoving in extra med supplies into both and grabbed the roll of extra-duty gauze bandages.

Darcy swore at Howard while she worked on his back, and once he stood up, she looked furious. "You know how to poison him, why don't you?"

"Because it'll be too suspicious. Especially if I can't even cry properly." Tony grabbed the bags. "Let's go."

After they dropped him off at Pointe, he entered the studio. He really did love dancing. He loved science too, but that love had a damper on it in the form of Howard Stark. Quickly getting changed, he prepared to stretch his muscles, putting on a song. They would be there in and hour, plenty of time to do what he enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some Tony + Darcy fluff. I want to get in all the good times I can before I really start bashing on Tony. Poor baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AWESOME NEWS!!! I'm no longer grounded, I'm so glad. I CAN UPDATE AGAIN!! Thank you all for your comments, they made my day. And to make up for not updating since... forever, I guess, it's a long one. And I'm going to be updating again once more, then I'm going to stick to every 2 weeks.
> 
> So, yeah. I'm going to be updating about every 2 weeks. I've got so much homework, it isn't even funny, and my teachers seem to be trying to kill us with tests. We have tests seemingly every other day, and I'm slowly dying inside. I've had 4 within 2 days last week, and 6 total.
> 
> Physics, (which is my worst subject, I'm rubbish at it) L. A., history, biology, L. A. again and maths. I've gotten good marks for all of them, including physics (I've got a 90, which I'm glad for) except those that haven't been marked- obviously I don't know what marks I've got for them.
> 
> Okay. Calming down. You probably don't want to read this. So on with the story!

When Tony heard the faint  _thump_ - _thump_ of footsteps, he got up from his position on the floor, where he was sitting in the splits.

 

Turning off the music, he waited as the children streamed in.

 

"TONY!" Nikki squealed.

 

The rest focused on him, and for a few minutes it was a sort of organised, controlled chaos. Whenever he was there, it meant that there were no regular lessons and that they would be having lots of fun that day. He grinned at them.

 

"How're you all doing?"

 

"GREAT!"

 

He laughed. "Well, I've got a bit of a treat for you. Today is going to be a dance competition, and you'll team up in groups or stay by yourself. At the end of the session, you'll present your own creations and the person or group wins will be crowned champion."

 

They excitedly broke apart to form little groups, chatting happily.

 

Smiling at them, feeling a pang in his chest, he sat back on the chair and watched. He really did love children.

 

The evening passed quickly, and soon it was time to pack up. He said goodbye to them as they left, smiling and laughing, until there was only one girl left there. Sophie Banner. Tony wondered occasionally if she had any relations with Dr. B, but he usually forgot about it pretty quickly.

 

"Sophie? Who's coming to pick you up?" Tony walked over to the curly-haired girl. She looked at him with unusually serious hazel eyes. "My uncle normally does, 'coz I live with him, but he said he was going to be a bit late because he just texted me right now to say someone had a car crash and was clogging up the whole road."

 

"Okay," Tony nods. He turns back on the stereos, and looks at her. "I'm going to be dancing. Hope you don't mind, you can just leave if you want-"

 

"Can I watch?!?!?" She looks at him with excited eyes.

 

"Or that too. Yeah. Sure." He laughs.

 

She scampers up onto a stool, and Tony flicks through his playlist. Selecting a song, he stands on the dancefloor and waits for the song to start.

 

He looses himself in the movements, the beat, his blood racing through his veins like liquid fire. He is dimly aware of somebody rushing in, then stopping in surprise at a quiet whisper, but he doesn't care about hat. He only cares about the way his body is humming, thrumming with energy ready to be let out in one of the best ways possible.

 

Once the song stops, he opens his eyes (when did he close them?) and stretches. He turns and sees not one person, but several. The studio adores watching him dance, for some reason, and so he's not necessarily surprised by this. What he is surprised by is the presence of one particular person.

 

Dr. Bruce Banner, Tony's Chemistry teacher. Huh. Shit. Well, his question is answered now- Sophie does have relations with Dr. B.

 

He wishes he never even thought of the stupid question.

 

They start clapping, and he flushes pink. He can normally control his facial expressions and response, but the arrival of his teacher really did throw him off balance.

 

"Uh, thanks." Tony stammers.

 

Ryan comes up. "Okay folks, you've enjoyed the show. Lets leave our darling Tony to his blushing. Isn't he cute?"

 

Tony kicks Ryan in the shins. Hard.

 

"Ow! 'He may be little but he is fierce'," Ryan said dryly, adjusting the gender of the quote to make it fit.

 

Tony ignores him, as they drift off. "See you later, Tones."

 

"By Ryan."

 

Tony turns to focus onto Dr. Banner. "Um, hi."

 

"Anthony. You dance?" He sound surprised.

 

Tony tries not to feel offended. "I, uh, sub here. When the Regulars aren't here."

 

"Oh."

 

Awkward silence ensues. Tony fidgets uneasily.

 

"Well, thank you for taking care of Sophie. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

 

"Right. By Sophie."

 

"Bye Tony!"

 

They leave and Tony looks after them, bemused. "Well, that's weird. God, tomorrow will be so awkward."

 

He picks up his things slowly and goes to the parking lot, where Darcy and Ms. Lewis are waiting for him.

 

~~~~

* * *

 

"So, how was the class?" Darcy asked casually, while they sat in here room, Tony having rigged up a projector from a box of scraps ("Geniuses are great to have around, especially kind, sweet, talented, and modest ones." Darcy remarked, watching him with interest. Tony blushed.) and they sat watching The Princess Bride.

 

"Oh! They were awesome." Tony rambled about them, as the watched the movie, and Darcy smiled and listened.

 

"But you know Sophie Banner?"

 

"Yeah, why?"

 

"She's D. B's niece, and he came to pick her up."

 

Darcy turned around so fast that Tony was half afraid she'd get whiplash. "You've got o be kidding. Dr. B came to the Pointe?"

 

"Yeah, and I was dancing. You know how it is."

 

Darcy snorted in amusement, reaching for the popcorn. "Good."

 

"What? Why? How is that good? He'll probably tell the other teachers, especially Agent and Fury and Johnson."

 

"Even better."

 

"How?" Tony looked at her suspiciously.

 

"I'm sick and tired of them putting you down, especially Bitch Hill. You deserve more than that. You are amazing-" She holds up her hand as Tony tries to dissuade her, "No, don't even try to argue. You are amazing, kind, sweet, talented, helpful, charming, brave, selfless, and you rock."

 

Tony was pretty sure that he hadn't blushed this much since he was a kid. "Darcy-"

 

She cuts him off with a hug, and he curls up in her arms, head underneath her chin. "Thank you."

 

"And you're an great friend."

 

He laughs somewhat weakly. "You're going to give me a huge ego."

 

"You're self esteem is rubbish, I need to build it up."

 

Tony hugs her a little harder.

 

The next morning, he gets driven to school by Darcy. She had her drivers, but she was mainly too lazy to drive. Tony could drive, he had driven at empty tracks before as a favour from a few people. He was an adrenaline junkie, and wasn't ashamed to admit it.

 

They get out as soon as she parks, and separate.

 

The day passes quickly. But that doesn't make Tony like it any less. He gets pushed around by Hammer and his cronies, Ty tries to threaten him, and the teachers mock him mercilessly. Despite the fact he's a genius, they all seem to focus mainly on the reputation he and other countless students have built about him.

 

Then the last class of the day comes. Chemistry.

 

Tony slides in a few seconds before the bell rings, and Dr. B's eyes are focused on him for what seems like the entire lesson. He bets Sophie had been talking about him. Stalker much, Jolly Green?

 

When the bell rings, Tony gets called back. "Mr. Stark. Wait a moment."

 

A few girls give him sympathetic looks as he slinks back to his seat. 

 

He sits in his seat as he tries to figure out the best way to escape. "Yes Jolly Green?"

 

"You said you sub in at the studio that my niece goes too."

 

Curiously, his voice stays a calm shade of green. Huh.

 

"Yeah, and at a few more places. Why?"  


"I've been checking your credits, and there isn't anything on it."

 

Ah.

 

"I've got it all, I just haven't handed it in," Tony shrugged casually. Not that it matters much, he's already graduated. But still.

 

"Another question... Why don't you join the dance club?"

 

"No thanks. I hate meetings."

 

Dr. Banner stares at him for a few minutes. Tony had no idea what he's thinking, and that made him uneasy.

 

"You good, Jolly Green?"

 

"Why do you call me that?"

 

"Oh- your voice." He deflected the question. Hmm.

 

"What?"  


Curse his stupid mouth.

 

"Nothing, nothing. Can I go now?"

 

He hesitates. "Very well, but you must pay attention in class. Oh, and before you leave, you've got to come to the next parent-teacher conference. It's mandatory."

 

Uh, shit no.

 

"Howard's not going to be here. Wait, when is it?"

 

Tony was busy trying to think of a way to avoid it, and consequently missed the frown that passed over his teacher's face when he called Howard 'Howard', and not Dad or Father.

 

"It's next Thursday and Friday."

 

Yeah, Howard wasn't going to be there.

 

"I understand if your father cannot come, but what about your mother. She can come, can't she. Your parents will be sent the e-mail today as those who need to come to the conferences." It wasn't a question, nor was it a request.

 

Damn, he was right. And he couldn't even wiggle his way out of it. He would try to make sure Howard wouldn't see the e-mail, but it would probably be a futile hope. At least he got a week and a half to heal a bit more.

 

"Yes, Dr. B."

 

"Very well, Anthony. You may leave.

 

How was he going to get out of this one now?

 


	6. Chapter 6

Tony walked along with Darcy as they made their way to the gym for the play. They had called in a practice.

 

"I can't wait to see their faces when they see how good you are." Darcy laughed gleefully. 

 

"Eh. I'm used to people doubting me. It's practically the norm now." Tony said casually, as they turned the corner and came face to face with Coulson.

 

He had an odd look on his face. Which, in itself, was weird. An earthquake couldn't shake him. Somebody puking all over his clothes couldn't shake him. But something in the school had.

 

"Uh, Agent? You okay?" Tony eyed him cautiously.

 

He nods, and leaves, his face once more smooth and placid as a tranquil lake.

 

"That was weird." Darcy frowns after him, then shrugs. "Oh well. Let's get going."

 

They hurried to the gym, where the other members already were.

 

Darcy steps up. "LISTEN UP PEOPLE!"

 

Silence quickly reigns. "Good. This place is going to be for the acrobats. If you aren't one, you can leave. If you are one, you're going to be wishing you weren't. We'll make you're lives hell. Especially if you haven't been practicing."

 

It was Wednesday, and PTI's were starting tomorrow.

 

Tony had mainly come to distract himself, because he already knew all about the play. He also came because Darcy insisted, for some weird reason.

 

"All right, we've been practicing for weeks now, and we're ready to put on the music. And this time, we actually do have a Leading Player, so yay!"

 

Tony considers the other acrobats. They sure as hell didn't look excited.

 

Darcy turned and walked across the gym to where the sound speakers were, as everybody got into position. "And... Ready!"

 

Tony slipped into his character effortlessly, moving like a professional acrobat and gymnast, making the rest of them seem like clumsy, blundering fools.

 

When they stopped, everybody was staring at him like they'd never seen him before. In a way, he guessed they hadn't.

 

Tony bats his eyelashes innocently. "What?"

 

"How long have you been dancing?" Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, the question came from Romanov.

 

"For a while." Tony decides to answer.

 

"Forget dancing, how long has he been doing gymnastics?!" Barton's outraged voice rings clearly through the silent gym.

 

Tony snorted, swinging his legs back and forth from where he sat perched on a high stool. Frustratingly, he was still rather short. It didn't seem that way, with his larger-than-life personality and big brains, but he was. He was a depressing 5 feet 4 inches, and it didn't seem like he was going to grow much more. All the other boys in his class were at least 5 feet 8 inches, but it wasn't exactly a fair comparison, he was younger than them after all. But still.

 

Darcy smirked smugly. "I told you guys he was great. Your fault for not believing me." The implied _idiots_  was politely left unsaid. But knowing Darcy, he doubted it was from politeness.

 

Practice sped by, and soon they were leaving. Howard wasn't home, so it was safe to go to the mansion. Tony had let his mamma know about the PTI's. He still thought they were stupid.

 

inside the mansion, after Darcy had driven off, Tony went straight to his mamma's rooms. Her and Howard didn't sleep together in the same bed, let alone room. No, after Howard refused to come to the birth of his son, and didn't come home for 2 years after that, things between them were irreversibly fractured and broken.

 

instead, his mamma lived in the South Wing, and Howard stayed in the North Wing, leaving the East Wing for guests.

 

Inside his mamma's rooms, inside the South Wing, there were flowers and plants tucked in the front rooms in such a way to make everything more aesthetically pleasing and all were blooming prettily, filling the air with a light fragrance- his mamma did have an astonishing green thumb. There were crackling fires everywhere, in every fireplace, making it warm and cozy.

 

She had passed down the love of music to him, and there was a piano in one of her sitting rooms, and another in her library.

 

Tony walked through all of that, until he came to his mamma's favourite sitting room. She was in a dress that was a gorgeous hue of crimson red, made of the finest wool, and wore brown leggings underneath. She was cradling a cup of tea, curled up on the couch.

 

"Hello, mamma."

 

"Bambino, how are you?"

 

"Mamma, _sto bene_." (Mama, I am fine.)

 

She hummed lightly, smiling up at him softly, her hair in waves of rich dark brown around her. A careless scarlet rose was pinned in her hair.

 

She was beautiful, and Tony was glad to have gotten such a gorgeous mother.

 

" _Domani sono le conferenze_." (Tomorrow are the conferences). He looked at her. Would she be able to go? She had been tired recently. Not many people knew this, but she ran a company as well. Carbonell Beauty and Fashion Design, as well as donating generously to several charities. 

 

" _Sì_." (Yes). She smiled at him, soft, warm light chocolate eyes with golden flecks, the same as his own, staring at him. " _Starò bene, cara. Inoltre, voglio andare a vedere I tuoi insegnanti specialmente questo 'jolly green' che è 'assolutamente geniale' di cui hai parlato._ " (I will be fine, darling. Besides, I want to go see your teachers, especially this 'Jolly Green' that is 'absolutely brilliant' you've been talking about.)

 

"Mamma!" Tony flushed. He hoped he wouldn't embarrass him like this. She laughed, her laughter sounding like silver bells.

 

Well, there went _that_ hope.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a little late. Honestly, I'm horrible with time and dates. Remembering things is not my specialty. If I ever take too long, just shout at me, okay? But anyway, interesting things are coming up a head.
> 
> Methinks I predict a group project coming up ahead... 
> 
> Well, anyway. Enjoy. Review. I live for your reviews. I mightn't be able to reply them all, but I really appreciate them. You guys rock.

They were driven there by Earls.

 

Tony sat in the back with his mama, who looked as beautiful as ever. She had spent half an hour picking out a dress to wear, and finally settled on a warm cashmere sweater-dress, a gorgeous crimson that glowed against her skin.

 

She turned, noticing his nerves. "Shh, bambino. _Andrà tutto bene_." (Everything's going to be alright).

 

He bit his lip and nodded. Earl pulled up at the school. "Here you go, Young Master, Mistress."

 

"Thanks Earl," Tony said.

 

His mama smiled graciously at him. "You're service is highly appreciated." A mischievous twinkle shone in her eyes and Earl laughed, as Tony bonked his head on the seat in front of him.

 

"Oh, no." He moaned. Tony hastily slid out of the car, figuring he might as well get it over with. He was already planning his eulogy.

 

Now, for which flowers he'd like best in his grave...

 

" _Smetti di essere così drammatico, dolcezza._ " (Stop being so dramatic, sweetheart). His mama had followed him out, and had now linked his arm with hers.

 

" _Mi metterete in imbarazzo_." (You're going to embarrass me). Tony said it like the stone-cold fact it was.

 

His mama simply laughed and dragged him towards the front of the school.

 

The warmth was welcome when they entered. It may be early November, but there was a bit of a chill that was present in the weather, despite the sun.

 

There was a soft, steady, pulsing beat of colour that wove its way around him when he entered. Steady purples and greens, with the occasional splash of orange and pink.

 

The admin turned when they entered. "Hello- oh, wow." The lady stared at them.

 

"Uh- Mrs. Stark." She were obviously awestruck. The Starks were a big deal, that is, except for Tony. He caused to much chaos for his coming to the school to truly be any sort of novelty anymore.

 

Maria Stark smiled prettily at her. She looked every inch the sweet, demure, beautiful woman that she showed to the world.

 

Few people knew she had teeth, and those people were either six feet under or trusted family and friends.

 

"Hello," she gave her a dazzling press smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms-" She subtly checked her name card. "Ms. Torres."

 

"Oh- oh yes, thank you."

 

"Well, we'll be going to Tony's Chemisty teacher first. It was nice meeting you." And she left in a whirlwind of demure smiles and pretty gestures.

 

People wondered where he got his whirlwind effect from. Most assumed Howard. But they were wrong. So, so very wrong.

 

Tony raced after her, eyes focused on the silky cloud of lilac. Therefore, he didn't look where he was going, and bumped into an increasingly familiar chest. Rogers.

 

"Stark." The muscular blond boy said flatly. 

 

"Oh. You." And in that moment, Tony showed his outstanding wit. He tried not to cringe.

 

Rogers bristled like a cat, and was about to say something, when a sudden voice came piercing through, a soft pink fizz. "Steve? Where are you?"

 

Mrs. Rogers walked over to them, and she smiled. "Hello Tony. Nice meeting you here." Her voice bubbled with tiny sparks of sky-blue genuineness.

 

So he smiled back. "Hi Mrs. Rogers. How are you?"

 

Steve looked back and forth, looking dumbstruck. "You know each other?"

 

"Of course. I thought I told you?" Sarah frowned briefly. "Oh, well. But Tony comes to the shop a lot. I see him nearly everyday, chugging a litre of coffee an hour."

 

Steve looked absolutely flummoxed. "But- it's Stark!"

 

Sarah Rogers arched an eyebrow. "And?" Her soft pink fizz was beginning to get spiky.

 

Steve meekly shut up, and Tony stifled the urge to laugh, before realizing that his mama was probably far gone and embarrassing him to death.

 

"I've got to go. But it was nice seeing you, Mrs. Rogers." And with that, he took off, racing after the general direction of his mother.

 

Who knew what she had already said to Dr. B? Tony shuddered and ran faster.

 

 

* * *

 

He got to the classroom, to find his mama waiting outside. He quickly peeked in. There was somebody else in there. Thank god for small mercies.

 

Or maybe not.

 

She was sitting next to an unidentifiable woman. That wouldn't be so bad, if she wasn't sitting next to Romanov and Barton. And they were looking at them curiously. Romanov in particular looked exceptionally interested. Guessing from the way she arched an eyebrow, they had been talking about him. But nothing too embarrassing.

 

Hmm. Looked like she hadn't said anything embarrassing. Yet.

 

"Mamma."

 

She beamed sunnily at him. "Tony. Why, what's the matter?" It was probably due to their surroundings that she chose to speak English. His mama did have a tendency to be polite. That is, at least to people she liked or tolerated.

 

"Uh- nothing." Tony sat down beside her. Romanov turned her laser eyes towards him and he mentally cringed. School on Monday was not going to be fun.

 

"Hmm." Maria Stark said, looking between him and Romanov and Barton.

 

Tony bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. He drummed his fingers against the edge of the chair, as the silence stretched on. Of course, his mother was perfectly content, ignoring the tension that could be seen by a blind man.

 

Luckily for him, Darcy walked towards them, Ms. Lewis in tow. "Hi, Tones."

 

"Hey, Darcy." And because his mother was staring at him significantly, he introduced them. One thing not to introduce his... What were they? Bullies? Mockers? Enemies? But another thing entirely not to introduce his friends.

 

"Um. Darcy, meet my mother, Maria Stark nee Carbonell. Mamma, meet Darcy Lewis. My friend."

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you Darcy." Maria Stark smiled warmly towards her.

 

Darcy beamed back. "Hi, Ms. Stark."

 

Ms. Lewis smiled at them, before engaging the adults in conversation, dissipating some of the tension, while they refused to acknowledge the opposite group.

 

5 minutes later, the couple and child left, and Dr. B walked out.

 

"Anthony. Mrs. Stark." He smiled, but looked tired.

 

Tony couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked like he would need some strong Tylenol after this.

 

They walked inside, door swing behind them with 3 rings of mahogany.

 

It felt ominous. Tony began planning his death once more, as they took seats. They quickly exchanged pleasantries and settled down.

 

Dr. B took out his file and looked up. "As you know, Anthony is a genius, and he shows excellent grades in his tests and written work, as well as projects. But there are grades for paying attention in class, nod in those, he's definitely not doing so well."

 

His mama slowly cocked her head, looking puzzled. "But-"

 

Tony realized that she didn't know he hadn't told the teachers about his ADHD. 

 

His mama turned to face him. "Antonio! I thought we agreed that this would count as part of your personal health and wellbeing, therefore something you needed to tell them?"

 

He winced in mild guilt. "Um, sorry?"

 

Dr. B leaned forward. "I have a feeling that I'm missing something."

 

"I apologize, I thought Tony had told you. He has ADHD, and struggles to focus, even when he's on the highest prescription possible."

 

"That... Explains a lot after all." Dr. B looked stunned. He also looked like he was mentally berating himself for not putting together the signs.

 

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? And with his synesthesia, it certainly doesn't help."

 

"Synesthesia?"

 

"It's a neurological disorder in which parts of his brain relating to the fives senses are cross-wired. He sees sound as colour," explained his mamma. "There's nothing wrong with it, except for the fact that even the littlest noise can cause a minefield of explosion. Pair it with his ADHD, and he isn't the most focused person in class."

 

Dr. B looked like he had been hit over the head with lightning. "That... that explains so much. Alright, I have no complaints then. But when you go to see your guidance counsellor, make sure to tell him to update your info."

 

Mamma smiled charmingly at him. "Thank you, Dr. Banner."

 

As they were getting ready to leave, Dr. B stopped them.

 

Tony eyed him. "What?"

 

"When you call me Jolly Green... it really is because I am green, aren't I?"

 

Tony nodded, glad he didn't seem to be too out of sorts. His kindergarten teacher thought he belonged in a psych ward when she was informed. "Yeah. You've got the greenest voice I've ever seen."

 

Dr. Banner nodded, eyes full of contemplation as they left, and Romanov and Barton plus the strange woman- Tony guessed she was a friend of Agent's, but he wasn't sure- came in.

 

The rest of the conference passed quickly, with minimal questions asked. As they drove home, Tony leaned his head against the back of the seat. He had a headache. And he was exhausted.

 

He didn't look forward to Monday, that was for sure.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I've just been swamped with work recently, but it's now Spring Break, and yay, I can update more often! Enjoy!

The weekend passed by surprisingly quickly. Tony baked with Jarvis and played with the kids at the gymnastics centre and composed music with his mama. And he managed to get caught up on all the work Howard had given him. But now, as he lay in his bed windows open and the light of the moon shining against the hardwood floor, and the massive, fluffy, hand-knitted rug, he felt uneasy, like he was forgetting something.

 

Even though he was 99.99% sure he did everything. With a sigh, he rolled of his bed, snatching a blanket to wrap around his shoulders as he climbed through the window and sat on a ledge, looking up at the constellations, their stories echoing in his head.

 

He stayed like that until morning. He might not have slept, but he felt a lot more rested than he had been in years. Dressing quickly, not needing to put concealer on anything, he slid down the railing downstairs, where Jarvis was waiting with a warm smile and a container of cookies- Jarvis's special cookies.

 

The one with brownie mix in the centre, oozing out chocolate, the gooey chunks scattered (quite liberally, he might add) all over the surface of the cookie.

 

"Good morning, young sir." Jarvis smiled warmly at him, eyes crinkling at the corners, voice a beautiful shade of lapis lazuli blue that lazily spun itself around Tony, like a delightful string of candy floss, long and stretched out but fluffy at the same time.

 

"Hi Jarvis!" Tony beamed back. Despite the awkwardness that was sure to ensue at school, he felt ready to take on the world. Mamma came through the door, entering the Main Hall, footsteps echoing dove grey, like tiny round balls that rolled and bounced around her.

 

"Antonio, _tesoro_. How are you?" Her voice was threaded through with beaitiful patterns of violet, striking against the soft, silky cloud of lilac.

 

"I'm fine mama."

 

She walked forward quickly, taking his face in her hands before kissing his cheeks. Taking the container from Jarvis, he left the mansion.

 

He walked slowly to school, crunching in leaves and delighting at the sharp bursts of scarlet, marigold and bronze. He jumped into a delightfully large pile of wonderfully crunchy leaves and marvelled at the fireworks that occurred from it.

 

Tony didn't think that he'd ever seen that particular shade of bronze before. Fascinating.

 

Jumping and somersaulting into piles of leaves, he made his way to the school. He had created a wreath from the autumn leaves, and was a few minutes from the school, when a car drove by.

 

It was the group, crimson and goldenrod, America blue and splotchy purple, striking cyan and bold trumpet orange, with a hint of evergreen. Romanov was crimson, Barton was goldenrod, Rogers was America blue and Foster was the splotchy purple, while Barnes was the striking cyan swirls and Thor was the bold orange. Loki was the evergreen, and he could smell the hint of mint that signalled Loki.

 

Tony paused, as they drove by. At that moment, Barnes turned and caught sight of him, nodding his head ever-so-slightly.

 

Tony blinked, astonished. They never acknowledeged his existence... Unless they were forced to. Putting it in the back of his mind to ponder over later, Tony continued to school, removing the wreath from his hair and walking inside the building.

 

He was in such an unusually good mood today, that his mask slipped. And the day only got better, when he checked his phone and found out that Rhodey and Pepper had texted him to say that they would be coming over later that day, and they were free for Monday and Tuesday after school.

 

He couldn't stop vibrating in sheer delight, and he saw several people stare at him like they had never seen him before. Trying to calm down, he took a deep breath.

 

Making his way through his classes in a sort of hyper daze, he finally snapped out of it a little after lunch.

 

It was also time for his Chemistry class. He entered the class early, and Dr. B's eyes immediately focused on him. "Anthony." The voice of the teacher helped settle him more, his voice the colour of evergreen trees and soft and thick like the quilt Aunt Peggy had made for him.

 

"Hi Jolly Green." Tony sat down in his customary place by the window of the classroom. It was also in front of the overhead vents, and a perfect place to be in case of an ambush. Call him paranoid, but it wasn't paranoia if they were really out to get you. He had been kidnapped 12 times by the time he was 7, and had escaped, because Howard refused to waste money on him.

 

He was shaken out of his memories by tiny bubbles of yellow. He saw that his teacher was staring at him, expectantly.

 

"Uh- sorry, what?" Tony sheepishly asked.

 

"I wanted to know if you were alright. You seem especially distracted today."

 

"Oh." Tony was a little overwhelmed. Mostly only Jarvis, Mamma, Aunt Peggy and his friends and the Carbonells asked after him. So, his friends, knowing his workaholic tendencies and daily abuse and insomnia, knew he was never truly okay. The Carbonells were great, but they were not the best with emotions.

 

So only his Jarvis, Mamma and Aunt Peggy were left and because Aunt Peggy was so busy, she was never around much, so it only left Jarvis and Mamma.

 

"Anthony, did you remember to take your medications?"

 

Medications? Oh, shit, he had been so busy worrying over how people would treat him today that he forgot! But it was for a fair cause! People were so fickle. To be fair, so was he. Nothing like robots. And Tony had been creating the blueprints for a robot. He had been doing so for a long time, ever since he was five and wanted a friend. Damn Howard. He just wanted to know what he did. He had given up on Howard's approval for a long time. He was to stuck on things more important than his only son. Things like war. Tony hated war, he thought-

 

"Anthony!"  


"Oops. I forgot," Tony admitted, shrinking back in his seat. Howard always got mad. He would fly into a fury, because he wasn't focused, and he would bring out his favourite cane, the one that unhooked from the rest of the wood to show flexible metal that could act like a whip. It had been years since he'd forgotten.

 

But Dr. B didn't look mad, exactly. He just shook his head. "Next time, do try to remember."

 

Tony meekly nodded, and the bell rang, a sharp burst of colour, shooting like a flying arrow, steady and purposeful, knowing that it would reach its mark. Immediately, footsteps sounded, eclectic erupts of colour and sound, dazzling his senses with jewel like hues and tints.

 

As the class settled into session, he did his absolute best to concentrate as hard as he could. It was especially hard, as without his meds, colours seemed so much more vibrant and striking. 

 

Then Dr. B said something that commandeered the entirety of his attention. "During the month before break and 2 weeks after it, you will all be participating in a group project. It will take up a large majority of your mark, so beware." Jolly Green warned them all, face serious. "I'll be partnering you up in groups of 4, and no, you may not switch."

 

Tony's heart sank. He did a quick scan of their classmates. Darcy was there, and so was Romanov and Barton because they had a lot of the same classes together. It was only by a stroke of luck that Rogers and Barnes weren't around, and neither was Thor or Foster.

 

"Darcy Lewis, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton and..."

 

Please don't let it be him. Please, please, please-

 

"And Anthony Stark, you will be a group together." With that, he continued reading.

 

Oh shit. Some greater deity out there was screwing with him, Tony was sure of that. Hadn't he been punished enough? Apparently not, Tony scowled bitterly, ignoring the tiny splotches of colour decorating his vision from the the sudden wave of whispering.

 

"You'll be given 2 hours in school, and will be expected to work on your project during after school hours. This is for your midterm marks, and you will expected to show all you have learned in class, with extras if you want, for your midterm project." The bell then rang, dismissing them all.

 

Tony trudged out of the school, Darcy walking besides him. "Hey. It's not too bad, it could be a lot worse." Darcy offered sympathetically. Easy for her to say, she was friends with them.

 

As he made a face at Darcy, Romanov and Barton walked up behind her. Romanov arched an eyebrow. "Meet us tomorrow during lunchtime, and we'll discuss after school times. Got it?" She snapped, arms folded.

 

Tony nodded hastily. "Uh, yeah, sure."

 

"Don't screw this up Stark," Barton snarked, and with that they left to join up with the rest of their group.

 

Tony sighed. He turned to look forlornly at Darcy. "I'm going to die, won't I?"

 

Darcy considered this before looking at him seriously. "I'll make sure you won't. Don't worry, Tony. You're going to prove them wrong." She said, with a somewhat unsettling gleam in her eyes.

 

Before Tony could ask her what she meant, Darcy had hurried off. Tony stared after her retreating figure for a moment before leaving the school grounds. Pepper and Rhodey would cheer him up.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I'm so sorry!!!
> 
> Someone's screwing with me up there, I swear. First I get so sick, then I sprain my wrist and now I have a looming deadline of essays due at school.
> 
> Ugh.
> 
> I have a test on Monday (so 3 days from now) that I'm really supposed to be studying for, but really, somethings just need to take priority. By priority, I mean you guys.
> 
> It might not be the longest chapter, but thanks for not giving up on me. I really appreciate it.
> 
> And a lot of thanks to ironmanstan11 for their constant support.
> 
> Well, enjoy!
> 
> And don't worry, the next one definitely won't take this long.

After walking back to the mansion and changing into something more comfortable (SHIELD had a dress code), he grabbed his favourite jacket and his beaten-down backpack, stuffing it with brownies (Pepper and Rhodey were addicted to Jarvis' brownies) and a few other things, he left. As he walked to catch the bus, the first raindrops appeared in the sky. The world had turned a soft, misty grey and the sound of the raindrops hitting objects matched that, delicate little stars of silver and gold.

 

It was nice for November. There had been no snow as so far, and Tony liked rain. Ignoring the soft murmurs from those on the bus, Tony got off and walked to Ms. Rogers' café where they had agreed to meet. The café was a soft golden beacon of light, only partially obscured by the misty grey of the rain.

 

He walked inside the homey building, where the smell of delicious pastries and alluring coffee drifted underneath his nose. Ms. Rogers looked up and smiled when Tony walked in. "Hello Tony," she smiled cheerfully at him.

 

"Hi Ms. Rogers," Tony replied.

 

It was then Steve Rogers walked out from the back before freezing when he saw Tony. Why on earth couldn't he get away from them?

 

"What are you doing here?" The boy snapped.

 

"Steve!" Ms. Rogers admonished, and her son looked like he had just swallowed a lemon.

 

"It's perfectly alright, Ms. Rogers," Tony smiled at her. He wasn't in the mood to be hostile. He matched the weather outside- all soft, misty slivers and greys, raindrops gently drizzling.

 

Ms. Rogers softened. "Dear, how many times have I told you to call me, Sarah, sweetheart?"

 

"Approximately 57 times, Ms. Rogers." Tony flashed a quick smile at her. She laughed.

 

"Very well. Would you like anything? You're so skinny..." She murmured, tapering off.

 

"I'd like 3 cups of large lattes, one white chocolate, the other peppermint chocolate and the last one regular milk chocolate," Tony told, her, fishing in his pocket for his wallet, taking it out.

 

He handed over a ten-dollar bill, and Ms. Rogers nodded, taking the money and disappearing momentarily. Steve spluttered. "How?"

 

Before Tony could say something amazingly witty that would make Rogers back down in shame (he could hope, right?), Romanov came out from the back door.

 

"Hey, Steve, what's-" she paused, eyes taking in the sight of Tony, analyzing the situation, before her lips narrow to a dangerously thin line.

 

Tony tries not to pale. He has no doubt that the girl eats boys for dinner. Before things can worsen even more than it already is, the door opens.

 

They all turn at the sound of the pretty bell that chimes whenever someone comes into the café. There is a tall, strong boy with rich, dark skin and a pretty reddish-blonde with laughing blue eyes.

 

Rhodey and Pepper.

 

Tony bites back his sigh of relief. He's glad to see them, it's been a while.

 

Rhodey's eyes land on him and a smile spreads over his face. Tony races towards him and Rhodey picks him up as if he weighs as much as a feather (and no, he _doesn't_ weigh as little as a feather, he weighs a lot more, he's not _tiny_ , thank you very much), twirling effortlessly around.

 

"Hi Rhodeybear," Tony mumbles, burying his face into his shoulder, taking the scent of leather and soap and wood that is so uniquely _Rhodey_.

 

His voice is like molten lava, and Tony can see how the words melt over each other, creating a comforting wall for him to lean against, knowing that it'll never let him go. His voice is sky blue, bluer than the sky actually, bright and welcoming, teasing and gentle.

 

Tony really loves Rhodey. 

 

"Hi Princess," he chuckles, laughter rumbling deep in his chest. Rhodey might only be 16, but that boy is already built like a body builder.

 

Rhodey lets him down and Tony turns to Pepper, and gets swallowed into her embrace, melting into her arms. His friends give the best hugs ever. Pepper's smell is as distinctive as ever, with a delicious mix of spice and cinnamon, with just a hint of citrus. It sounds odd, but it really isn't, the scent alluring, matching perfectly with Pepper's pretty looks, peppery personality, terrifyingly clever mind and sharp tongue.

 

"Hi Tony," she pulls back to look over him. Even without the killer heels that she normally wears (Tony is certain that he's never met someone who loves shoes as much as she does), she's still taller than him at 5 feet 6 inches, and Rhodey does not count, he's at least 5'10 and still growing.

 

With th a voice like flowing ink and exquisite calligraphy, her voice is a smooth, fiery red that burns like a crackling fire, surrounding him in it's warmth.

 

Tony often wonders what he did when he didn't have them, before he met these two amazing people with some of the most exotic voices he had ever met. Tony doesn't know how he survived, but he has them now, and he's never letting go.

 

Pepper narrows her eyes at him, taking in the restlessness that thrums through his body and his wary stance. She turns around, eyes terrifying icy slits as she scans the area for possible causes of his distress.

 

Pepper lands on Rogers and Romanov. Her lips tighten, and Rhodey, having finished chatting with Ms. Rogers who had just arrived and picking up their drinks, sees this.

 

He looks like he doesn't know whether to be turned on and to run away screaming, because Pepper looks Unimpressed (and yes, that 'I' deserves capitals) going onto Irritated.

 

An unhappy Pepper means that someone is going to die that day, most likely in a very painful manner. Tony gulps. He hastily blocks her gaze and when she frowns at him, he offers her a winning smile.

 

She softens and Tony lets out an internal sigh of relief, and with a side glance at Rhodey, he looks like he's doing the same thing and has caught onto Tony's plan.

 

"Pepper, babe," Rhodey says innocently, "I've got the drinks. You wanna go now?"

 

The aforementioned girl pauses in her cold perusal of Rogers and Romanaov, who are still gaping at them. Well, Rogers is gaping and looks to have gained a healthy fear of Pepper already, while Romanaov is just analyzing them. But Tony can see the respect in her gaze as she glances over at Pepper.

 

Hell hath no fury like Pepper irritated.

 

Pepper purses her lips. "Well, okay," she agrees.

 

Tony and Rhodey usher her out, Tony pointedly ignoring the twin stares that burn into the back of his head, only pausing to wave at Ms. Rogers who smiles back.

 

Nothing's going to ruin the rest of his day.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit short, I know, but I just wanted to write something soft and pretty, I'm in that sort of mood. Also, I'm updating early! Mostly because my test went so well and I'm really pleased.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S. The next one definitely won't be this short. Don't worry.

Tony follows Pepper and Rhodey, skipping to keep along with them much to Rhodey's amusement.

 

"You're so short," the dark-skinned boy chortled.

 

Tony bristled. "Shut up," he hissed. "I'm not short, you're just freakishly tall."

 

Rhodey simply smirked, patting his head like he was cute. Tony took serious offence to that, he wasn't cute. "Aww, you're like a kitten! An angry kitten," he amended, "but a cute, adorable kitten all the same."

 

Tony hissed angrily at him, batting his hand away. "Shut up, you oversized ape spawn." Tony snapped.

 

Rhodey laughed at him and Tony scowled even harder. Just because he was tall didn't mean he had the right to pick on Tony, that stupid orangutan. 

 

Pepper turned, eyebrow arched from where she stood, tapping her feet. "What's taking you so long?" She asked, eying them suspiciously, before turning and pinning her boyfriend with a terrifying glare. "You better not be teasing Tony, James Rhodes."

 

Her aforementioned boyfriend gulped. "O-of course not sweetheart," he smiled shakily at her.

 

Tony snickered, ignoring the dirty glare that Rhodey shot him once Pepper's back was turned, and ran to catch up with her, Rhodey right beside him.

 

Eventually they reached their destination- The Park.

 

The Park, for that was what it truly was called, was a fairly large building, that was both inside and outside, with sprawling, beautiful gardens.

 

It it seemed old, with ivy crawling up parts of it, and there were pathways and benches and tables you could just wander around in, with old fashioned kid parks- you know, the ones with wooden seesaws and simple slides. In the spring, everything would just bloom, and the area would be awash with soft, bright colours, and in the winter, everything would just frost over and snow would pile prettily along the gardens, looking like something out of a fairy tale, with winter wonderlands and everything.

 

Not many people knew about The Park, and for that, Tony was glad. He knew he was being as selfish as Howard said, but he couldn't help but be relieved. The winsome, sweet, old feeling that The Park had would have been ruined.

 

They walked inside. For what seemed like the millionth time, Tony wondered who exactly ran the place. Nobody seemed to be in charge of the place. There were donation boxes that Tony tried his best to give to, but it was all optional.

 

Pepper nudged him, eyes soft. "C'mon Tony," she said sweetly, her voice soft and gentle. Her words burn bright with love, making Tony even more comfortable, and he follows her obediently.

 

Rhodey has already sat down by their spot, a bench with an ancient-seeming stone table in front of them, overlooking the grounds of The Park.

 

As they sat down, Tony listened to the tinkling sounds of the rain. It wasn't particularly loud or hard before, but now it seemed softer, somehow, reminding him of what he called 'hazy times', times when he woke up in the night and it was all soft and dark and the rain gently hit the pane of his window, or times when it was summer and dusk was really late in coming, and  all they (himself and whoever was with him at that time, mostly his mamma and Jarvis) would do was watch the world descend softly into a veil of soft, sleepy purples and greys.

 

Times like those, when it was the middle of the night and there wasn't a moon in the sky, and the stars were just mapped across the inky black canvas of the rotating celestial sphere, when the empyreans were shining with carefully painted stories and tales.

 

Tony smiled, snuggling closer to his friends as a delicate web of silvers and pale, shining golds painted itself in his minds eye, overlapping with his vision.

 

As he ate and laughed with his friends, he couldn't help but feel peace that he hadn't felt for so long, stress and pain constantly piling heavily on top of him, making him feel like he was sinking in quicksand. But those? This was perfect.

 

And that night, he dreamed of delicate, simple yet elaborate patterns of pale gold and silver, dreaming of oceans the same colours of Rhodey's voice, of warm fires the hues of Peppers, and when he woke up, nothing could bring him down.

 

That is, until he got to school. And saw, in front of his locker, the group (how the hell did they even know his locker?) waiting for him with crossed arms and frowns.

 

And his heart sank like lead.

 

 _Here we go again,_  he thought with dread. Couldn't he ever catch a break?

 

Apparently not, he thought, dismayed, seeing the glint in Romanov's eyes that spoke of untold tortures, and Tony tried not to flinch.

 

Well, time to face the Spanish Inquisition.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is part one because I'm still figuring out part two and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer than you already had.
> 
> I'm so sorry for how late this is. School is being uncooperative.
> 
> Just to let you know, Machiavelli is a psychologist's nightmare and Shakespeare created his plays just to mess with poor, unsuspecting students in the future.
> 
> Well, enjoy. Sorry again this is so late and short, the rest will hopefully coming sooner.

Tony sat stiffly in his seat, pointedly ignoring the looks sent his way.

 

Really though, he should have expected that everything would go up in a massive cloud of shit. He wasn't expecting that it would be this soon, though.

 

* * *

 

 

Tony trudged forward, unwillingness leaking from every pore in his body, and saturating the air in something he almost could see- like a trick of the light or an illusion, it was there one moment and gone the next.

 

The hallway had never seemed quite so long, yet so very short.

 

He finally reached his locker, where they were all gathered around. Determinedly trying his best to pretend the didn't exist, he quickly unlocked his lock.

 

No such luck though. He could literally feel the glares boring into the back of his head. With a sigh, he turned. "What do you want?" He asked resignedly.

 

Barton and Rogers looked somewhat taken aback, as if they didn't expect him to give in like that. But Romanov looked unfazed.

 

Instead, she smiled, sweet and false, and oh shit, he tries to ignore the panic creeping through him, the fear because _fuck she looks so much like Sunset Bains then-_  

 

Then, before the panicfearpain could get too much, she spoke, and she sounded nothing like Bains. Bains was a lot like Romanov, now that he thought about it, but Romanov was better, somehow. Kinder, in a twisted sort of way.

 

"Oh, nothing much," she said, voice deceptively innocent. "However, I informed Dr. Banner that we had decided to go to your house, when he came around with the sheet. Just so you know."

 

She smiled, triumphant, and turned around, walking away with the rest of the group. Tony watched after them, gaping, dismay and fear surely written across his face in bright, bright red marker.

 

Fuck. Howard was going to kill him. And Tony knew he had to tell him, knew Howard would be coming home for the next week before he left again for who-knows-how-long, and he most definitely knew that when, not if, Romanov and Barton would pop up unannounced, and Howard found out unexpectedly, his life would be over.

 

Tony was pretty sure the only reasons that Howard hadn't just killed him (apart from being a sadistic asshole and using Tony as a punching bag for his rage) was because Tony was brilliant and due to him, made sure that whenever the U.S. entered a war with Stark Tech, they won, and because Tony was his sole heir.

 

The bell rung and Tony realized that he was late for class. The day really couldn't get any worse, could it?

 

He jinxed himself. It did.

 

After a torturous Chemistry class, having to face Dr. B's odd looks and being forced to 'talk' with Romanov and Barton (yeah, right, it was more like a war of insults and occasionally kicks), he was intercepted by Darcy.

 

Now, Tony adored Darcy. So when she asked him to do a favour for her, he agreed without even knowing what it was. In hindsight, that was one of the stupidest things he had ever done in his life, up there with The Incident (let's just say it involved flying turkeys, glitter bombs, explosives, and screaming, lots and lots of screaming. Did he mention the screaming? A solid 20% of the people involved were still traumatized and were have regular visits to highly trained psychologists. He tried his hardest not to think about it) and what was known as That One Time.

 

He was even going to go there, he had filled 20 fucking psych wards with that stunt. Howard nearly had an apoplexy and Tony was in the hospital for a month.

 

But yeah, agreeing to that favour was a very stupid thing to do.

 

Especially since it meant that himself, Darcy, and 10 other people were now going on a camping trip. Out of the ten people, every single member from the Group was in there.

 

And he was bunking with Rogers and Barton. He was going to die, he just knew it. He must have severely pissed off Fate in his past life, because she sure as fuck was screwing with him this time around.

 

Consequently, he was somewhat distracted, enough so that Barton and Romanov (mostly Romanov to be honest, that girl was insanely terrifying) had managed to corner him into getting him to go to his house after school.

 

Yes, he could safely say that this was one of the worse days of his life.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I'm so, so sorry this is late but Wifi has been whacky at my house, and I don't actually have enough time to sit down and write, because school is trying to kill me.
> 
> 2 exams done with... An amount that I do not want to think of to go.
> 
> But enjoy this anyway!

Tony found out they were waiting for him in the parking lot as he got out of school. Their eyes were squinty, suspicious, as if they suspected that he would slip away and try to get out of the project as soon as their backs were turned. (Well, he had been, but there was no need to make it so obvious, right?)

 

He seriously contemplated purposely slowing down his steps until he was dragging his feet across the concretes and gravel, but Tony really didn't feel like being insulted today (not that he ever did, but sometimes, lots of times, he didn't have a choice, and right now, he did have one and he wasn't going to waste it on getting more pain than was already given to him) so he sped up.

 

"Are we walking?" Romanov immediately asked him as soon as he reached them. Tony opened his mouth to agree that yes, in fact, they were walking, did she have a problem with that (not that Tony would ever say that out loud, he liked living, thank you very much) when a shout interrupted them. 

 

"Oi! Wait up!" A familiar feminine voice called, and they all turned to see the familiar face of one Darcy Lewis, eyes bright and clever, curls streaming in the light breeze as she ran to catch up to them. She really did look caught unawares, Tony thought, still slipping on her jacket, shoes unlaced, clutching her backpack awkwardly, papers threatening to fall out of the unzipped compartments.

 

She panted lightly as she  caught up with them. "Sorry, I got held up," she flushed slightly.

 

They could certainly see that, Tony agreed.

 

"We can take my car," she took over, flush fading and voice now steady as she walked firmly towards the familiar Chevy.

 

They followed her without protest and entered the car, Tony taking shotgun like usual, and the permanently-attached-at-the-hips pair followed into the backseat.

 

Darcy strapped on her seat belt and glared at Tony until he buckled his on as well (Darcy was well aware of how much he hated restraints and the fact that he consider seat belts to be ones, but she was not driving until he was strapped in dammit; his father already tried to kill him, he didn't need to have the extra chance of death by car accident to add to it) before starting the car.

 

Darcy drove, navigating the maze like streets with ease as the houses grew bigger and everything in the neighborhood screamed 'wealth' and 'filthy stinking rich'. Eventually, she turned left to a more private place, and she drove past beautiful scenery and complex decorations until she got to a massive iron and steel gate that towered over them.

 

Lucky for them, Earls was on duty and he let them pass with a nod and a tip of his ever present hat and a smile. They then entered through the gates, Darcy driving up the long, winding driveway until she reached an absolutely massive house.

 

Tony jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped, hurrying past them into the house. Entering the code, he twisted the door handle and pushed the door open. Glancing behind him, he waited for the others to catch up before entering the house.

 

If they had been gaping as they drove through the neighborhood, they were struck dumb as they took in the tasteful, expensive decor of the mansion. Darcy called it the manse of opulence. And she wasn't wrong.

 

The first thing they noticed was the twin grand stairs on opposite sides, separated by a pale marble fountain (okay, who needed a fountain in the middle of a house? Howard Stark apparently) with delicate, tasteful platinum and silver designs.

 

Tony trudged up the stairs as they hurried to catch up. "So, we'll be going to a workshop, then?" Darcy asked him.

 

"Right, workshop B2," Tony agreed with her. She cheered as he led through a dizzying series of hallways and staircases until he finally got to large doors made of oak. No surprise there, she loved that place.

 

Not only did Howard not know about it, she always left with a cool souvenir from the place, whether it be a mini robot (gosh, she had a lot of them now, Tony realized) or some other whimsical toy that Tony had made, just for kicks.

 

But really, the main reason why he chose this workshop was because it was his experimenting workshop, where he made all the formulas and blueprints and prototypes. As a result, if one of them touched something they weren't supposed to, even if it would create an awful mess that hurt his heart to think about (because there would be so many of his dreams gone up in smoke, most likely quite literally), at least they wouldn't burn down the workshop, let alone the house.

 

 Pushing open the doors, he revealed a place, such a place that it wouldn't be surprising if it was confused with Santa's workshop, all fantastical and fascinating and wonderful.

 

Tony flushed. "Uh, sorry for the mess, I was just-" he gestures helplessly around as drones fly over the tables, dropping things off, and a train steams and whistles its way through the room on its tracks.

 

Darcy just laughed. "Oh, quit being so shy. You know I love this place; B2 is one of my favorite workshops," she grins at him brightly.

 

Tony rolls his eyes and leads them to his planning table. "Um, please don't touch anything, this place is nicknamed the Prototype Workshop, courtesy of Darcy, for a reason. There's a goodness hands that you might burn your hands off or blow something up if you do." Tony warned them, catching Barton yank his hands back from where he was reaching for something, out of the corner of his eyes.

 

They sat down at the reinforced table. Tony fidgeted. "So, uh, what exactly do you want to do?"

 

Theres silence between all of them, only broken by the occasional puffs and whistles and toots of various instruments in the room.

 

Tony resisted the urge to sigh. They had a long way to go.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so late, over a month late... I'm so sorry. I'll try to make it up to you guys now that school is out. I'm so sorry!

They sat like that for a painful amount of time, until Darcy got sick of it.

 

"Okay, enough. I get that you guys don't have the best relationship, but it's just for one project! We can do this!" She insists.

 

At her words, they immediately moved. She smiled, pleased that they had agreed.

 

Tony was pretty sure it was because they were more afraid of what she could do to them if they disagreed, rather than agreeing with her of their own free will. Well, whatever. It was just schematics, right? (No, but Darcy was rumoured to have an uncanny ability to tell what somebody was thinking of, and Tony didn't want to push his luck; it was being remarkably good at the moment).

 

Tony whistled a few sharp notes in binary (it was surprisingly easy to do, even if Darcy insisted it was just because he was a genius. He vehemently disagreed with that, after all, he had taught her, hadn't he? Or, er, sorta taught her; Tony would never admit it, but she kinda sucked at it.) and a drone (Tony recognized him as Gubbins (and yes he does know that it means a gadget/device)) flew over to him, holding in her claws, sheets of blank paper. Another drone flew over (Tony knew this one as Widdershins, he always did fly funny (but in a totally good way!)), this one holding a basket of writing/drawing utensils.

 

They were deposited onto the desk, and Tony made sure to thank them (he didn't care what other people might say, they also understood non-binary, so he was just broadening their appreciation for language). "Thanks, Gubbins. Thanks, Widdershins."

 

They beeped and trilled and flew off, and Tony looked up to find Barton and Romanov staring at him with odd expressions. He tried not to fidget or shrink into himself, but it was hard. But it was okay, because Darcy grabbed his hand under the table (in a totally platonic way, he always though of her as an older sister, like Pepper was (and huh, they got along like a house on fire)), and Rhodey was the big brother. Except Pepper and Rhodey weren't related because that would be... ugh (not that he was judging, well at least he tried not to, who was he to judge when he was such a screw up, such a mess? but still, _ew_ ) and it would be weird.

 

Darcy beamed at them, and oh, yeah, they were her friends too (but that was fine, and Tony wasn't jealous because he knew she loved him (though sometimes he couldn't understand how she could love him of all people) a lot and cared for him just as much) and spoke up. "Tony taught them all how to understand him in binary! Also, he's teaching them how to understand people who don't speak binary. AKA me."

 

Tony promptly protested, because she might suck, but she wasn't that bad! "You're great at binary! You just... um... struggle sometimes?" He petered off into a question at her unimpressed face.

 

"Tony, you're so sweet that I sometimes swear that you're a real life angel. But even you can't overlook this fact. Tony, I sound like a one-year-old attempting to talk."

 

"No! You don't! It's just your pronunciation…  and general understanding of the language... and the fact you mix things together... and- oh." He winced. She rolled her eyes and snorted.

 

"I didn't mean it that way!" Tony tried to backpedal.

 

Darcy started laughing. "Tony, you're impossible."

 

"No I'm not!" He yelped. She continued laughing. "Hey! Darcy, stop laughing at me~" he whines, momentarily forgetting about the two other people in the room. In that moment, it's Saturday with Howard gone, and Jarvis and Mamma laughing with them and then all of them going to the kitchens with the staff to bake sweets.

 

She chokes down one last laugh and sighs. "Of course, yeah, whatever."

 

Then Tony fully takes notice of the other people in the room, and whoops, he can see the disbelief in Barton's gaze at him letting down such a façade and the calculating interest in Romanov's (once more, Tony prays that Pepper and her never sit down for a conversation, because if Romanov still hates his guts (oh, who is he kidding? she'll forever hate his guts), it'll end in disaster) and he gulps.

 

Darcy snickers one last time before sighing. She turned to the paper with a regretful expression. "Might as well get started." She passed out the papers. "Okay, time to brainstorm. I guess we write whatever ideas we have, and in 10 minutes, we'll share and choose. Then we'll assign roles and shit, and figure out the rest along the way."

 

Tony accepts his sheet of paper, plucking a pen out of his pocket, one of his favourites. Tony's never really understood why he loved pens so much; considering his inventors mind, it should be the exact opposite, right? But Jarvis had smiled, warm eyes full of love and wisdom, and told him that it was because of his desire for creation.

 

Tony was only 5 when Jarvis told him that, even with his genius, he didn't, couldn't, understand. But now, even though he doesn't understand fully, he understands enough to know that Jarvis was right (like he was on most things; the only thing he wasn't right on was the fact that Howard loved him, but Jarvis had been around a long time, so maybe he had seen a different side of Howard, one that Tony couldn't imagine) and to accept it.

 

"Oi, Stark, get to work!" The harsh sparks of cyan, unlike Barton's usual swirls, made Tony flinch involuntarily and duck his head, mumbling an apology, while Darcy glowered at Barton.

 

He quickly began scratching some of his ideas down, humming softly to himself, the self produced music relaxing the tension in his body.

 

They didn't say anything else, just went to work by themselves, the rough, forest green scratches calming Tony down further. But as 8 minutes passed, that was when his luck ran out.

 

An alarm in the workplace rang, and they all jolted up. Romanov turned to him. "What was that?" She asked.

 

Tony didn't answer as the blood drained out of his face. He and the staff had set up a series of alarms, some regular ones like carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, and some not so common ones. Like the one that was ringing with increasing urgency. Ones for when Howard was back unexpectedly.

 

He jumped up, and started grabbing and putting away the sheets with frantic urgency. Darcy ran after him as he started locking down the workshop. "Tony! What's wrong?" 

 

He gulped and turned to face her. "Howard's back."

 

He watched as her face turned white with horror too.

 

Darcy opened her mouth to say something, when a familiar roar erupted over the sound of the alarm. Shit. Howard was back, in a bad mood. Tony knew that by the time he got 'decently attired' and down there, it would probably be way too long. Howard for sure would be drinking by now. The only thing he could control was getting Barton and Romanov away from the scene.

 

Speaking of which... Romanov and Barton had finally followed them there, matching expressions of confusion and some other emotion that Tony couldn't understand, couldn't identify. "Um, what's happening?" Barton said. "I get that it's none of our business, but we could maybe help?" He ended uncertainly.

 

Well, that was one way to give Tony a heart attack. Just send them down to face Howard. Frustrated, he shook his head. They were wasting time that they didn't have. "Darcy," he turned to her, and she swallowed. "Tony, please-"

 

"There's no other way, Darcy, you know that."

 

She nodded, looking like it was killing her to agree.

 

Tony sighed. "Keep this place locked down. I'm going out."

 

 With that, he turned and hurried out the door. He raced to his room, dressing with clumsy, shaky fingers, before running to the study like his life depended on it. Which it technically did.

 

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

 

Silence. Then, "Get in, you useless boy." The words were slurred, and Tony knew he was screwed.

 

He opened the door regardless, and stepped into the room, the smell of alcohol and anger prevalent in the air.


	14. Interlude - Little Boy in a Big World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Interlude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that you guys are all going to lowkey hate me for this.
> 
> But, um, I'm still leaving you on a cliffhanger, sorry! But really, tbh, my drafts for this were seriously depressing, and I'm pretty sure that unless I want to change the rating of this fic to mature (which I don't because this wasn't supposed to be too angsty) I need to tone it down a bit.
> 
> So while I figure that out, here's something to appease you guys with. It's a bit sad, but I hope you like it!
> 
> Also, it's later than I meant. I'm working on my procrastination. I promise. 
> 
> P.S. Note to everybody out there, last minute packing is a Bad Idea.
> 
> P.P.S. I won't be updating for 3 weeks. I'm going to camp.

When Tony was born, there was silence.

 

But at the same time, a wealth of noise.

 

When Tony was born, the only witnesses to it were his mother, and the doctor who was assisting with the birth. Not even Jarvis and Ana were there. 

 

After all, he was born in Italy, Maria Stark deciding to take an impromptu vacation to get away from the stifling quietness of the house. He wasn't supposed to be born until a month later, so even though it was risky, at the same time it was fine because, really, who could blame her? In fact, he wouldn't meet Jarvis and Ana until he was 4, and they finally went back to the U.S.

 

As for Howard, well, it wasn't like they were expecting him to be there, him busy out on some sort of expedition that was clearly far more important than the birth of his first, last, and only child.

 

Maria had held him tightly in her arms, silent tears flowing down her cheeks as she soundlessly rocked him back and forth. Even Tony, after the first cries, was silent.

 

There was only silence, broken by the quiet beeping of the heart rate monitors, and after the doctor left, it was only him and his mother, alone in a too big, too expensive room that was clearly a result of their status, and little Tony was rocked back and forth.

 

Eventually, when his mother inevitably drifted off into a deep, exhausted sleep, he was taken and wrapped tightly in blankets, ID on his wrist, and deposited into a bassinet in an empty room.

 

At first Tony wailed. But no one came, and he fell silent. This was Tony's first lesson on loneliness, taught at only a few hours old. After all, he didn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things.

 

He was just one little boy, one very small little boy, in a much bigger, much grander world.

 

* * *

 

 

When Tony was 2 years old, he saw his mama cry for the first time.

 

Tony knew that she cried, had seen the signs in the morning when he would run into her drawing room to have coffee (he didn't really have coffee, it was more like milk with a dash of coffee inside, but it still counted) and he would try his very hardest to cheer her up.

 

Maria never realized he knew, which was his intention.

 

But things were different. He was in the garden, and had wandered into the hedges. In the very heart of them, he saw Maria Stark, crying on the oak bench by the roses. Her tears glinted in the soft streaks of  sunlight that shimmered out of the cloudy sky. They fell like glistening jewels from her pretty eyes, drop with a slight splash on the red, red rose, the result something unimaginably beautiful, yet heartbreakingly sorrowful at the same time.

 

Tony unconsciously reached a hand towards her, wanting to go and comfort her, to do something. But this was different. These weren't the tears that would turned her eyes red and puffy, these weren't the sorrows childish laughter could wipe away.

 

This was something deeper, something more. It was tears of heartbreak and ending.

 

Tony quietly slipped away.

 

The very next day, he was called to his mother's rooms to start learning English, in favor of the Italian they normally used.

 

* * *

 

 

When Tony was 4, a day after his birthday, Maria received a phone call.

 

The week after, they moved.

 

Tony wasn't sure what to think of this strange country, where smiles were rare and kindness even rarer. America was lonely and cold, and the mansion, his new home, even more so.

 

Tony would spend weeks getting lost in the cold, empty wings of the palatial estate. The house was like a ghost - a sad, lonely ghost that didn't seem to experience a speck of joy or laughter.

 

Then he met Jarvis.

 

The man found him in a spotless, old-fashioned drawing room. Even now, Tony still thought about that day. If he hadn't met Jarvis, Tony knew his life would probably turn out to be much different- he was bad enough now, but Tony knew by the time he was 8, he would probably be an emotionless robot - and he wouldn't even have to go to Hydra.

 

* * *

 

Tony was 6 years old, and his mother had grown distant and cold.

 

Tony was 6 years old and made his first weapon for his father.

 

Tony was 6 years old, and desperately lonely and sad.

 

But Jarvis understood. Jarvis understood everything, because that was when Tony met Ana for the first time.

 

The first she did was give him a chocolate chip cookie and took him to the forest by the house (oh, how Tony loved that forest) to play hide and seek. They tied, and had to run back inside just when they were going to play the tiebreaker because it started raining.

 

Jarvis was waiting for them with a soft smile on his face, just outside the house with a umbrella held over his head and two towels thrown over his arm.

 

They were pushed off to towel off and then they later sat in front of the fire, him and Jarvis and Ana, telling stories with a plate (or 3) of cookies and endless hot chocolate.

 

For the first time in a long time, Tony didn't feel quite as lonely.

 

* * *

 

 

8 years old and crying in his room after a beating from his father because he refused to make another missile.

 

That was the first time Tony stopped thinking of Howard as his father, and simply as Howard Stark.

 

Maria Stark found him, asleep, shirt off, back covered in welts.

 

Tony woke up with his mother by his side for the first time in almost 4 years.

 

* * *

 

 

10 years old, and Tony was choking on blood.

 

He had gotten kidnapped countless of times since he had moved to America, but they were always put off by his size and the sadness and resignation swimming in his big, brown eyes. They didn't have the cruelty to injure him severely.

 

These kidnappers were different.

 

They tortured him. When Tony finally managed to escape, he took up Aunt Peggy's offer of self defence lessons.

 

He knew better now.

 

* * *

 

 

12 years old, and a mass murderer. Tony wasn't stupid, socially stunted = yes, but definitely not stupid; he knew where the weapons he made were going. 

 

But Tony was afraid. So afraid to say no. So afraid of the pain that would follow.

 

Tony went ahead and did it.

 

He got sent to the hospital. Just 5 days later, Tony's meager bag was packed and he was sent to HYDRA.

 

Tony thought he had known hell, but he found out he never had.

 

Because this? This was hell.

 

* * *

 

Tony was 15 years old and covered in blood, both metaphorically and literally.

 

Tony was a hardened war general. But Tony was also a lonely boy who never had the chance to have a childhood.

 

Tony wished for anybody to help him. But wishes, at least, his wishes, don't come true.

 

After all, who would care?

 

He was just one little boy in a much bigger world.


End file.
